"We played with much enthusiasm and lightness, and combined with ease, and the Dutch were apparently overwhelmed.""The midfield and attack worked especially well - the Dutch hardly entered our danger zone."

...like a proud papa, Joachim Löw can put the team to bed for the year with a smile on his face."Holland was a custom-made opponent," Löw said in the post-game press conference. "Holland had no chance."

(On Miroslav Klose) "He always knows how well prepared he must be before games and always presents himself in outstanding condition.""There is no real reason to talk about him much. You can see that as long as he keeps fit, he is very important for the team.He varies his play, moves well and is great on the ball." - from football.co.uk

"A lot can happen in the next half year," Löw warned after watching his team beat Netherlands for the first time since 1996."If we had to play the Euro tomorrow we'd be in excellent shape. This good run we've had isn't uncanny for me at all.""We've worked for years to get to this level and our goal was to improve a bit every year." "The developments from 2010 have been very good," he added. "I'm very pleased with the consistency we've been able to build up.""Two or three years ago we couldn't always win the big matches," Löw said. "But now we've achieved that. I'm very pleased that we're consistently able to come up with this high level of performance."

At lunchtime, Andre Schürrle announced on his official Twitter page that he had had to withdraw from the match due to flu.

This article on Hamburger Abendblatt looks back to 21 June 1988 when Germany were defeated by the Netherlands in Euro 1988, Jogi saying, in yesterday's press conference, he was watching at home on TV "probably with a glass of red wine". It goes on to talk of Jogi's record as Bundestrainer and calls the German national team without him as "no longer conceivable". - 15 November 2011

Joachim Löw opened the press conference by saying the Netherlands game could be "a great finale to a successful year" and that he expected it to be an interesting game and offensive in style. He then went on to comment further on the Dutch team and talk about his squad choices for tomorrow.

"We have no fear and there is no reason to be afraid," said Löw told reporters Monday."It will be a great challenge to play against the number two team in the world."A Dutch reporter could not resist asking whether the match in Hamburg was a friendly game or a war between neighbours."It is a test game for both teams, this game has no influence on next year," replied Löw diplomatically."Of course, we both want a win, we want to both show what we can do, but I don't think it will come with an elevated level of aggression.""The Netherlands have mastered the system they play, they know exactly what to do and they are hard to beat.Their extra class is the strength they have shown over the years, they have individual players who have great speed, especially in one-to-one situations."

"The Dutch are very well trained, are perfectly automated, and hardly come under pressure," he told reporters. "Especially when it comes to training, the Netherlands are still hard to beat.""For a young team we were especially very consistent. To win the entire [Euro 2012] qualification campaign is not a given. We have also continued to integrate young players and we developed our play and tactics. So I am very pleased with this year, even though we still have to refine details.""Klose has trained once, I'll wait for the final training and test his strength. Whether we will play with two strikers, I will decide this evening," he said, adding: "It is clear that Ozil will start. But I must of course be considerate to the players, who still have a hard winter ahead. If the situation permits, I might substitute him."(On Jerome Boateng)"He has his greatest opportunities and prospects in the middle, he has great skills, especially physically," the trainer said."I think he's also a good right-back, with his pace going forward. Furthermore, we have in [Per] Mertesacker, (Mats) Hummels, and (Holger) Badstuber some central defensive players who have established themselves. Therefore, Boateng will also have to play on the outside from time to time.""I've watched the game against Ukraine again, and am still happy, because the goals had nothing to do with the system at all. We would have conceded in the form of a back four."

"Germany versus Netherlands is always something special," Löw told reporters. "There have been extremely tough and bitter fights between the two teams but that has changed a bit. I think the rivalry has lost some of its weight. Back then there were very tough games. [...] there were incidents in a lot of games but today these do not happen so much. There are now lots of Dutch players in the Bundesliga, who have made Germany their second home,"

"They have excellent footballing education, their game is automated, they rarely come under pressure. For 30 years the Dutch cannot be beaten in terms of consistency," "The Dutch always generate new players. They can always bring out more players. They always had the advantage that their young players, 18 years old, played for their clubs," said Löw.(when asked how the two sides have changed over the years)"We have learned from them over the years. I don't know if the Dutch have become more German. It is clear that our education in the past 10 years has focused more on technique and skills. Before it was more power, running and fitness. Clearly it was necessary to think outside the box." - from Reuters

Jogi has played down the game being his 75th in charge of the National Team. "Die Zahl bedeutet mir nichts" Kicker quoted (numbers mean nothing to me).

At a press conference held in Hamburg on Sunday, Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff spoke about Joachim Löw as he approached his 75th game in charge. He spoke of the coach's record of 51 wins in 74 games as being 'unique' and a 'great achievement' and called him at person who has never changed, always managing to concentrate on the essentials. - from de.fifa.com.This youtube video features Oliver Bierhoff from his press conference.

"In the game against the Netherlands, we will not play the three-man defence," Löw was quoted as saying by AFP."Overall, I was really very happy [with the display against Ukraine], even if I am the only one with this opinion. The three goals against us had little to do with the new system. We have a main system, which has worked well for several months, but we want to develop ourselves and to be flexible and unpredictable at the European Championships."

Klose to return to German squad after injury - 12 November 2011Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and midfielder Marco Reus will also return, the former rested for the Ukraine friendly and the latter missing out because of flu.However, defender Marcel Schmelzer will not play against the Netherlands because of a calf injury suffered in Friday's game.

For details of squad selection and news prior to the two November friendlies, see my Ukraine match page.

With thanks to ESPN for showing a real-time recording of the game on UK TV !

Last updated 3 August 2012.With thanks to everyone on the Group, especially Silke, Xinwei, Rocio, Masha and Nicole.See my Index Page for photograph credits. Anything else you think I should include on this page? Let me know!